Page 47 of A Temptress in Tartan

He gave her a lopsided smile. “Except that I am no farmer. I will leave the tending of the earth to the crofters. My interests lie elsewhere.”

“Do they lean more toward the sea?” she asked, remembering how fondly he talked about discovering new lands and traveling to places yet unknown while they had been aboard The Golden Rose.

“Even before my arrest, I was growing tired of doing battle for the king’s glory one day, then having him denounce our efforts the next.” He leaned back against the pillows, gazing up at the ceiling. “One day I was on the docks in Aberdeen after a particularly difficult battle, watching a ship from Madagascar sail into port. The wind lifted the sails, and I could smell the scent of the sea and the cargo of cinnamon being unloaded and I suddenly knew I wanted to be a part of it—to sail away from Scotland and my past memories here. To explore new places—” He broke off and dropped his gaze to her face. “Is that something you could ever endure or possibly even enjoy?”

She returned his gaze, feeling an unfamiliar stirring in her chest. When they had first been forced together, she only knew about the raw brutality of his life and how it had forged him into the man he now was. But in the last few days, he’d shown her a gentler side that made him less of a powerful enigma and far more human. She understood him better, and with that understanding she was drawn to not only him, but also a life he could offer her that was different from anything she’d ever imagined. “I could enjoy such an adventure if it is at your side.”

She expected to see pleasure in his eyes; instead his expression turned grim. “Then if we are to have any kind of future at all together, we must fight these charges of witchcraft.”

“You didn’t let what my clan did to you rob you of your dreams, don’t let what Swinton did to you rob you of your joy. You don’t want to give him such a victory.”

He gazed at her a moment, then some of the passion he had shared a moment before returned to his eyes. “You are right. I won’t let any of them take more from me than they already have. Dreams should be taken care of in a world where so few are realized.”

She smiled up at him. “Tell me, Husband, what other dreams do you have?” It was better to focus on the future and not the difficulty of proving his innocence at the trial, which still lay ahead.

Chapter Sixteen

“Thank you for being here with me, Lucy,” Elizabeth said as the two women waited for the king’s physician in one of the bedchambers at Hardgate Manor where the king had taken residence for Lachlan’s impending trial. Lucy had been kind enough to come with her once Elizabeth explained the situation.

“If not from you,” Lucy asked with a frown, “then from where did all that blood come?”

Heat rushed into Elizabeth’s cheeks. “’Twas my fault it was in the bed in the first place. I begged Lachlan to cover for the fact that we had not yet . . . that we . . .”

“I understand,” Lucy said with a gentle touch on Elizabeth’s arm.

“Lachlan went to the slaughterhouse and brought back blood that had been set aside from the stag we’d had for a banquet in our honor at Ravenscraig Castle.” Elizabeth tensed, expecting to see pity when she brought her gaze back to Lucy’s face. Instead, she was gifted with a look of understanding. “I was so filled with doubts and confusion about him then.”

“And now?”

Elizabeth hesitated. Only one doubt remained, one that might have been fabricated by her father as all the witchcraft accusations against her husband had been. “I’ll never really know him fully, just as he will not know me. Each day we are new persons based on the previous day’s events and emotions.”

Just then, a knock sounded on the door. “Enter,” Elizabeth bade as a young page opened the door. He bowed low before he announced, “King James of Scotland.”

The king swept past the young man, followed by an older gentleman whom Elizabeth assumed was the physician. King James’s imposing figure filled the room at once. He was dressed in a dark blue doublet, slashed with red-gold silk.

Elizabeth and Lucy both rose to their feet and curtsied. “Your Grace, we are deeply honored by your attendance to his matter.” The king came forward and offered Elizabeth his ringed hand. She dutifully kissed it briefly then stood.

“Let’s get on with the examination,” he demanded without further ceremony. He moved to a table near the hearth and poured himself a glass of wine before taking a seat and staring into the fire, ignoring them.

Elizabeth moved to the bed. She had already removed her slippers, garters, and hose. All the physician had to do was to flip up her skirts to examine her fully.

“Good morrow, Lady March. I will be conducting your examination,” said a tall, thin man dressed in a pale yellow tunic. He advanced toward the bed with a cheerful smile. “I’m Dr. Parkins.” He stopped at the bedside and took her hand, tapping it gently. “No need to fear, my dear. I’ll make this as quick and as painless as possible. When you are ready, lie back.”

On the other side of her, Lucy placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it affectionately.

Elizabeth glanced at the king, who still stared into the fire. For the gift of privacy, she was grateful. Ready to get the examination over with, she took a deep breath and held it as Dr. Parkins lifted her skirts over her knees. When he spread her legs apart and thrust two fingers inside of her, she gasped. Then just as quickly as he had entered her, he retreated.

“Very good,” the doctor said cheerfully, as he lowered her skirts once more before turning to the king. “She is indeed intact, Your Grace. The blood on the sheets could not have been as a result of breaking her hymen. She is a virgin still. I shall write up my findings and enter them in the court records.”

The king grunted and downed the contents of his glass before standing. The king swung to look at Elizabeth. A droplet of red liquid dribbled down his chin, but he did not seem to notice. “Of the five charges against your husband, this exam seems to prove him not guilty of one.” His gaze narrowed. “There are still four others against him, so do not allow yourself to find any kind of hope in this revelation.”

Elizabeth swung her legs over the bed and stood, staring resolutely ahead as she suspected the king was not through with her yet.

“I had trusted both you and Lachlan to take my offer of a truce between your two families seriously, like sensible, faithful subjects who obey their sovereign in all things.” The color in the king’s cheeks rose to match the drop of ruby liquid on the flesh above his beard.

“We needed time to adjust to each other, Your Grace. Time to put our feelings of hatred aside.”

His gaze narrowed further. “You have both brought disgrace upon your families, and if you do not consummate this marriage between you tonight, then I will see that the other four charges against Lachlan hold, no matter what witnesses come forward and give testimony. And you,” he said, as a vein at his temple began to throb noticeably, “I will see you given in marriage to a man of little means and in a desolate location far from all whom you might know and love. Do I make myself quite clear?”